In 1838 when Abraham Lincoln was twenty-eight he gave an
Address Before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois titled The
Perpetuation of Our Political Institutions. Lincoln maintained that America
could never be defeated by a foreign power – but the country could defeat
itself. In our time of mass shootings and belittling of government, the
Perpetuation Speech has lessons for us. Lincoln’s
“political religion” was not “government is the problem”; it was “reverence for
the laws.”

In 1838 Lincoln was concerned with the “worse than savage
mobs” who take law into their own hands, attacking those they believe to be a
threat. Worse, Lincoln argued, mob violence spirals out of control until it
injures and even kills innocent and admirable citizens.

With the high powered weaponry of today any individual can
be his own mob. Anyone can stock up on assault rifles or download a “build a
bomb in the kitchen of your mom” Internet recipe.

To Lincoln the direct
effect of lawlessness is fearful – the mobs may mistakenly set upon the
innocent, or even turn on themselves.
The indirect effect is worse because the lawless in spirit have only
been held in check by the laws: “Having ever regarded Government as their
deadliest bane, they make a jubilee of the suspension of its operations.”Even worse, the best citizens who have always upheld
the law become disgusted with a government that cannot protect them and forsake
their government to take matters into their own hands.

This is what
we face today. Thirty-five years of preaching that “the government is the
problem” has undermined respect for the government, the common bequest of our
Founders. Instead of faith in our capacity to face our challenges together, we
are advised by the National Rifle Association to redouble our purchases of
firearms, the better for each of us to become our own vigilantes. If only
firearms were readily at hand in social service agencies, movie theaters, and
kindergartens, how quickly threats to our individual autonomy could be turned
away.

This works.
Black Friday saw a record number of gun purchases. Every time there is a new
atrocity we buy more guns to protect ourselves from guns. Possibly the greatest
marketing stratagem ever hit upon by the weapons industry is the warning that
the government – especially if the government is President Barack Hussein Obama
– is coming after your hunting rifle, so stock up on Bushmasters now.

As faith in government
deteriorates we are susceptible to men of “ambition and talents” who will “seek
the gratification of their ruling passions.” Such figures could never be
content with even a presidential chair, as “such
belong not to the family of the lion, or the tribe of the eagle.” This
figure would aspire to the place of “an Alexander, a Caesar, or a Napoleon.” In
our fear and disorder we would invite in the man on horseback. We already see
this with the rise of Donald Trump, popular with our fellow citizens who see
themselves beset by immigrants and Muslims. Our government no long works for
them they feel, but if Trump can cast out eleven million immigrants and “bomb
the shit out of” terrorists, then we will surely Make America Great Again.

There is good reason for the rest of us to lose faith in government. Yesterday as the right denounced Muslim terrorists, the right made sure terrorists would continue to have unfettered access to guns. The Senate voted down an effort to ban gun sales to persons on the nation's terrorist watch list. If people believe their government is imbecilic it may be because their government is imbecilic.

The year 2015
is a time of passion but as in 1838, our passions no longer serve but control
us. “Reason, cold, calculating, unimpassioned reason, must furnish all the
materials for our further support and defense.” But evidence of rationality is
in short supply on the monitor of democracy’s heartbeat, Twitter. Within
minutes of news of the shootings in San Bernadino, the Left was claiming it
must be an arsenal-loving white male gun nut; the Right assigned blame to Islamo-fascist
terrorists. Police are still investigating.

From
1994-2004 when America had an assault weapons ban, advocates used the rhetorical
device of promoting “common sense” gun control. Common sense is in short supply
in the America of 2015. But we have a limitless supply of weaponry. One thing Americans
agree on is that we all expect our arsenals to be used in upcoming outbursts:
in Colorado Springs, San Bernadino, Newtown; or right in your own hometown.